1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in bottle capping machines or bottle filling and capping machines to improve the efficiency and reliability of handling plastic bottles which have become a very common container for beverages and, to some extent, other liquids. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements particularly suited for plastic bottles with pre-threaded screw caps. In particular, the present invention relates specifically to a friction engaging chuck used for placing the pre-threaded screw caps onto the bottles.
2. Description of the Known Art
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, capping chucks are known in various forms. Patents disclosing information relevant to capping chucks include U.S. Pat. No. 2,884,751, issued to Bjering on May 5, 1959; U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,137, issued to Lanigan on Jul. 12, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,765, issued to Martin on May 24, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,139, issued to Martin on Aug. 1, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,400, issued to Martin et al. on Oct. 27, 1998; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,148, issued to Martin on May 21, 2002. Each of these patents are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Thus, it may be seen that these prior art patents are very limited in their teaching and utilization, and an improved capping chuck is needed to overcome these limitations.